House Flipping Shows

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I saw an episode of Windy City Rehab. Did not like her reno. We've seen people paint over brick, and some people like it under certain circumstances, but she painted over brick and cinder block construction all white, plus took the A frame away, built it out, and painted that all white. In the end, it looked like a tall, rectangular white elephant that people would call the ugliest house on the block. If that is what she is doing to Wicker Park, wow, I feel bad for Wicker Park.

I just watched the repeat of that episode and wow, the white paint on that brick house is beyond hideous. I find it hard to believe that someone paid over 1.3 million dollars for that monstrosity.

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Just watched the 2nd episode of Windy City Rehab and I'm just not understanding who the target market is for this show, unless it's simply those of us thoroughly addicted to house porn. The kind of people with $1 million plus to invest are probably not sitting around checking HGTV for rehab tips, even if Alison Victoria had any to offer. At least she didn't ruin the outside of this building like she did with the 1st one.

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The Windy City woman was on a House Hunters program a couple of years ago. I remember it specifically because they showed the house she bought got stripped down to the studs. Any trace of its history was gone.

I'm currently enjoying a DIY show "Cabin Masters". It's a fun crew and the cabins they rehab are done well -- no going overboard with "modern touches". I'd like one of those little cabins!

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I remember the WIndy City House Hunters episode. The entire house was stripped of any remnant of historic or vintage charm, looked just like any other flip house, with a too modern interior, and had a ridiculous second story perched on the top that looked awful.

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Third episode, yet an another fugly white painted brick house. Having to offset the curved arched door because of the coat closet seems like the kind of mistake a design student would make, not a professional interior designer. Only the kitchen and deck seemed like actual improvements. They spent double their renovation budget because of water and structural issues. Eventually, they took the house off the market because it didn't sell. Haven't followed up to see if they put it back on the market.

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I’m assuming the closing card meant she pulled it off the market until Spring 2019. With the foreshadowing of a $10k profit, which, btw, is not a win. Nor is all the exposure to her bad decisions, inability to work within a budget, craptastic communication, bad or no inspections, etc.

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The Windy City woman was on a House Hunters program a couple of years ago. I remember it specifically because they showed the house she bought got stripped down to the studs. Any trace of its history was gone.

On 1/20/2019 at 1:54 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I remember the WIndy City House Hunters episode. The entire house was stripped of any remnant of historic or vintage charm, looked just like any other flip house, with a too modern interior, and had a ridiculous second story perched on the top that looked awful.

I know who you're talking about, but it's not Allison Victoria. AV was on kitchen crashers for several years before Windy City Flip/Rehab. The HH lady was some random person who was probably hoping HGTV would offer her a show. Thankfully, they did not.

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I know who you're talking about, but it's not Allison Victoria. AV was on kitchen crashers for several years before Windy City Flip/Rehab. The HH lady was some random person who was probably hoping HGTV would offer her a show. Thankfully, they did not.

I agree. Mr. Google has no mention of Alison Victoria ever being on House Hunters.

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I agree. Mr. Google has no mention of Alison Victoria ever being on House Hunters.

I did a quick Google search. Wanna Be AV is Amy Mahjoory. Here's a link to her business(es): http://amymahjoory.com . She wrote a book as well and according to her Amazon bio "Amy is an expert real estate investor, entrepreneur, published author, TV personality, national real estate coach and motivational public speaker." *eye roll* No further comment from me.

Edited January 28 by juliet73

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So what's up with vent hoods? I've been catching up on a lot of flipping shows this week and am surprised at the constant design love for the monstrous things as a feature element. Custom built, made of metal, painted to look like metal, faux finished to resemble wood, looming hugely over an island ... yeesh. And so expensive!

Honestly, my homes as an adult have always had built-in microwaves over the stove, but if given the chance and a custom kitchen design, I'd buy one with a nifty downdraft vent and put it in an island. Be nice to not face a wall when cooking.

Is it [X] part of the country that loves vent hoods and I've just never lived there?

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So what's up with vent hoods? I've been catching up on a lot of flipping shows this week and am surprised at the constant design love for the monstrous things as a feature element. Custom built, made of metal, painted to look like metal, faux finished to resemble wood, looming hugely over an island ... yeesh. And so expensive!

Honestly, my homes as an adult have always had built-in microwaves over the stove, but if given the chance and a custom kitchen design, I'd buy one with a nifty downdraft vent and put it in an island. Be nice to not face a wall when cooking.

Is it [X] part of the country that loves vent hoods and I've just never lived there?

I don't understand the vent hood thing either. I hate when it's this custom made feature and it's mounted on the wall with no cabinets on either side of it. Or when they remove a wall between the kitchen and dining or kitchen and living room and then install a monster hood. Makes no sense.

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I also hate the big overdone hoods. But I do see the point of installing a really good powerful hood to replace a wimpy microwave and hood combo. A friend did that recently. They cook a lot and are so happy to have a powerful hood that really clears the air of the cooking smells. Houses now are so air tight that the meal can be long gone but the aromas can linger on. My condo is the worst about that. ☹️

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I've been binge watching Bargain Mansion --season one is on HGTV' site and I just found season 2 on the DIY channel.

I like Tamara and her dad--they do good work, no surprises on her houses usually, and she does a very respectful job of restoring older homes.

The projects are massive, so I like that she usually gives 2 episodes to one project--it seems like they put about 5-6 months on each one.

I also like Bargain Mansions.

I get a bit tired of Tamara's formulaic visits to some craftsperson's shop where she grabs a welding torch or wields a power tool and "helps" with creating whatever custom feature she's commissioned. Maybe they could skip that now and then. Also, it cracks me up when they constantly shoot her "laying tile" or driving in the last nail or screw on some bit of reconstruction work. Like we don't all know it's just a setup shot for the show, and we are going to believe she lays huge bathroom floor tiles wearing a cute sweater and gold watch, rings, and bracelets.

That said, I enjoy Tamara and her dad, and the interesting variety of homes she renovates. The producers do a good job showcasing Kansas City - some really nice videography - and it's interesting to see homes that aren't in California or Texas. That's one reason I enjoyed Good Bones - it was in Indianapolis.

I rarely even check to see what's on HGTV. I watch Bargain Mansions on DIY. They had a nice little marathon of Bargain Mansions running against the Super Bowl last evening. I kept flipping between those two. In case, you know, the football game got slightly more suspenseful than Tamara's renovation projects. It never did.

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I watched a new show called Philly Revival on the DIY channel last night and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks for the tip! Are three only three episodes so far? I watched the ones I could find and enjoyed them as well. Like you said, Rachel is competent but low key and pleasant. They're breezy 20 minute episodes.

In addition to everything else you mentioned, she also whips out some fluent Spanish when talking to some of her subs. I think I'm intimidated.

Philly is a new city to me for flipping and the old houses are interesting. Rachel is a bit more adventurous as a designer with her finishes, which is fun to see.

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I watch through my Amazon fire stick and I see 5 episodes on their site. The first couple are the little row houses, I think the third one was the one with the copper pipe install on the ceilings and then she did 2 bigger houses in the last couple of episodes. The big city house with the turrets that she restored was amazing. It was such an unusual property and she made so much of all the historic features, then at the end she added a circular staircase up to a brand new roof deck with an incredible view.

I really found Rachel to be amazingly likeable for this kind of show. Usually with these flip teams one of the lead people is annoying or goofy--and she is very good natured, seems to really do good work along with her team and she seems to be very energetic and hard working.

The other thing I liked about her houses is she doesn't over-stage the houses--she seems to furnish them just enough to set the stage but unlike some shows like Good Bones, she doesn't go crazy with the accessories and furnishings.

Yes, she speaks fluent Spanish AND she's an opera singer. Kind of amazing to see how accomplished she is for such a young woman.

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I find the Windy City woman exhausting. This is just another "flip" series; but HGTV is really pushing it for some reason or another. I wish Boise Boys could get this kind of treatment at the network.

I find Windy City too much self-inflicted drama but Boise Boys was too much faux drama. The heavyset guy's constant "what are you doin'?!" stuff to the designer guy's ideas is so poorly acted that it detracts from what could be an interesting show. But still wasn't very interesting because I can't remember more than an episode where they did a hideous brick treatment of some sort and then built a house without wheelchair access for the one guy's family who needed wheelchair access. Allison is memorable for her constant screw-ups at least.

I wonder if the HGTV producers think people wouldn't watch a show without drama/conflict but I'd like to see them give it a go, at least once.

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Did anyone else catch the flip show from Starkville, MS(where I live) called Hammer to the Manor? It was on a couple nights ago and I was so glad I caught it! Missed it the first time and have been looking for it ever since!!

I did enjoy the show and liked how they kept the house as vintage as they could! It is a small bungalow located quite near downtown. The zoning in Starkville is a bit weird(at least to me) so that you can have houses right next to businesses or bright new homes next to what could be considered "dumps". I did notice while watching that there seemed to be construction being done on the house next door and when I drove by, I saw I was correct. Don't know if the brother and sister are working on that house but it is being upgraded slowly.

I'm not sure if I like the "wine cave" they designed but it was interesting to see how the idea evolved. If you haven't seen this pilot, look out for it. They haven't been picked up but from their Facebook postings, it seems they still have hope!

Here are a couple photos from Google of the Before and After. The before was taken in 2013 and the after shot right after they finished in 2018. BTW, this was a Hoarder house, as you can tell from the before. Again, this was an episode that I am glad I didn't have "smellovision"! Hope these links work!

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If anyone is looking for a drama-free flipping show, you might like the UK series Homes Under the Hammer on Amazon Prime. The show has been airing since 2003; Amazon has 10 seasons.

Each episode shows houses or commercial properties sold at auction and catches up with the buyers after they renovate and flip/rent. It doesn't show any of the work being done, just an initial walk through by the hosts, a chat with the buyer after purchase, and then the final result. We may hear about any big setbacks during the reveal, but they aren't the point. Estate agents also evaluate the houses before and after.

There are 3-4 houses per episode, and it's all very low key, pleasant background noise.

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If anyone is looking for a drama-free flipping show, you might like the UK series Homes Under the Hammer on Amazon Prime. The show has been airing since 2003; Amazon has 10 seasons.

Each episode shows houses or commercial properties sold at auction and catches up with the buyers after they renovate and flip/rent. It doesn't show any of the work being done, just an initial walk through by the hosts, a chat with the buyer after purchase, and then the final result. We may hear about any big setbacks during the reveal, but they aren't the point. Estate agents also evaluate the houses before and after.

There are 3-4 houses per episode, and it's all very low key, pleasant background noise.

Oh gosh. I watched that show a long time ago, maybe on a cable channel, or ??? I'll have to look for it on Prime. I enjoyed it for several reasons, not the least of which was getting a glimpse into the type of housing available in the UK and what buyers might expect (vs. good old US house hunters with the granite countertop/stainless appliance/4 bedrooms/office/4 bathrooms yada yada.)

EAT: I went to Amazon and I'm disappointed. They show four seasons, only two of which are currently available (I'm in the US, maybe it's different elsewhere). And to get the two available seasons, you have to sign up for an additional (paid) Prime video service, apparently focused on DIY/real estate programming. No thanks.